Archive By Author - Gary Phillips

Four members of Kershaw County's legislative delegation gathered with interested local government officials and residents Friday during the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce's annual Legislative Breakfast at the historic Robert Mills Courthouse in Camden.

Less than a year ago, in April 2014, Palmetto Utilities Inc., a Richland County-based company with a wastewater treatment facility along Spears Creek in Kershaw County, asked Kershaw County Council to officially support its application for a permit to discharge wastewater into the creek. Currently, Palmetto utilizes a sandpit treatment method.

OK, so the time changed nearly two weeks ago, but this week's installment of my thoughts and musings is about the recent time change and the proverbial "extra hour of daylight" we get to enjoy from now until autumn.

Camden's and Lugoff's fire departments are often lauded as some of the best in South Carolina, and that legacy appears to also pertain to the next generation. Explorer Scout groups from both departments dominated a competition at the South Carolina Fire Academy in Columbia on March 14.

More than a year after 18-year-old Briana Rabon's abduction and murder, a grand jury has indicted her accused killer, Stephen Ross Kelly, 22, on charges of murder, kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Both Rabon and Kelly lived in Lugoff, where Rabon had graduated from Lugoff-Elgin High School less than a year before her death.

The Lugoff Fire District welcomed a new fire marshal to its ranks last summer, but he's no stranger to Lugoff or to the fire service. Will Catoe is a Camden native and graduated from Camden High School in 1997, then immediately went into firefighting with Lugoff Fire-Rescue (LF-R).

Bethune Town Council would like to purchase and erect a message sign in town to inform residents and visitors of community events and news. Council discussed the idea at its March meeting Thursday. Councilman Don Witham first introduced the idea in February when he said the sign would cost approximately $20,000. Messages would be programmed from Bethune Town Hall.

This column is printed every Friday in the Chronicle-Independent, but, like everything else we do, it has to be written at least a day or two ahead of going to print. I normally write my column on Wednesday. That's what I did last week, as usual. My point is, I would have written this column last week if I could have.

A fundraiser by Kershaw Masonic Lodge No. 29 to help pay for training a Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) drug dog named Elsa exceeded its goal March 7. Lodge Worshipful Master Brett Perry said the training will cost $3,800 and the event -- a steak dinner at the Masons Lodge -- raised $4,000.

Organizers of the West Wateree Playground project now report they are only $80,000 away from their fundraising goal of $300,000. More good news may soon be coming as the project is a finalist in the running for a $50,000 grant. The plan is to build a state-of-the-art, handicapped-accessible playground at the West Wateree Athletic complex off U.S. 1 between Lugoff and Elgin.

Articles By Author - Gary Phillips

Here in the Chronicle-Independent newsroom, we're kind of shaking our collective head about the news which broke Tuesday about the early-morning heist of a complete automatic teller machine (ATM) from Mid Carolina Credit Union in Lugoff. The thief or thieves apparently used a large, stolen piece of equipment to rip the ATM from its concrete base and load it into or onto some sort of vehicle, almost surely a truck, given an ATM's size and weight.

On a 6-0 unanimous vote, with Councilman Sammie Tucker Jr. absent, Kershaw County Council passed a motion which, in part, would make Palmetto Utilities of Richland County responsible for repairing Crab Apple Lane and change the way it discharges wastewater to keep the road from being damaged again.

The Kershaw County Humane Society took a step toward being in its bigger home Wednesday with a groundbreaking ceremony at what will be known as the Meyer-Thiel Animal Adoption Center of Kershaw County. The facility is the former Coca-Cola building on Black River Road on the south edge of Camden and will replace the existing Walter M. Crowe Animal Shelter at the corner of Bull and Fair Streets.

The military plays a major role in the lives of many Midlands residents and contributes significantly to our economy, with Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force base providing jobs to the area. There have been recent discussions on cutting back the fort's personnel by as much as half, a move local government and business leaders say would have a large, negative impact. Fort Jackson's commanding officer, General Bradley A. Becker, recently visited a meeting of the Camden Rotary Club to explain the base's purpose in United States security and the economic benefit it provides to the region.